By Rajneesh Bhandari, Rajneesh Bhandari, Entrepreneur , Angel Investor , Founder at NeuroEquilibrium. He is also an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) alumni and specialized in chemical engineering
India’s oxygen production capacity is about 8000 tons per day. India is still producing more oxygen than is being consumed for medical use. Out of this, about 3000 tons is produced by the steel industry alone. The primary issue is that oxygen production is concentrated mainly in East India & South India, and transportation of liquid oxygen in special tankers is the real problem.
These tankers also have to follow a specific speed limit – no more than 40km/h- and they often don’t travel in the night to avoid accidents.
Liquid oxygen is pale blue and extremely cold, at a temperature of around -183C, is a cryogenic gas that can only be stored and transported in special cylinders and tankers called cryogenic tankers.
Demand for oxygen at individual hospital is unpredictable, like the number of patients with COVID 19 infection was hard to know in advance.
How this crises can be solved with available resources
Here are some suggestions on how this great crisis can be solved with available resources.
a). India has 1055 cryogenic oxygen tankers and an equal number of nitrogen/ argon cryogenic tankers. Nitrogen and argon cryogenic tankers can be used for transporting liquid oxygen. Technically all three tankers are of the same specifications. Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) has already issued guidelines for using nitrogen and argon tankers for transporting liquid oxygen on 26th April 2021.
b). Nitrogen & argon cylinders can be used for filling oxygen to supply to the hospitals. This will reduce the shortage of empty cylinders. Oxygen, nitrogen, and argon cylinders have the same specifications and design.
Nitrogen is an important industrial gas. Nitrogen is used in food, beverage, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, metal fabrication, electronics, automobiles, ceramics & glass, plastics, rubbers, etc. Liquid nitrogen is transported in cryogenic tankers and bottled in bottling plants across India. Nitrogen is also produced by Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) in plants situated across India. Air contains 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. An oxygen PSA plant takes air from the atmosphere, extracts gaseous oxygen as the product, and lets off nitrogen. A nitrogen PSA plant takes air from the atmosphere, extracts gaseous nitrogen as the product, and lets off oxygen. Both plants are very similar in design.
a). PSA-based nitrogen generating plants spread across the country can be converted to oxygen generating plants. IIT Mumbai has already demonstrated a POC on this. It requires activated carbon to be replaced by Zeolite/ molecular sieve. Zeolite is in short supply because of the sudden surge in oxygen production and will have to be imported primarily from China. China produces 71% of the global requirement of Zeolites.
b). Nitrogen bottling plants spread across India can be used for the bottling of oxygen cylinders. This will enhance the bottling capacity once liquid oxygen becomes available across the country.
Post Star Editorial Board adds the following to above article:Government of India health ministry invited bids for new oxygen plants in October last year – that was EIGHT months after the pandemic hat hit India as first wave. One hundred and sixty-two plants were sanctioned, but only 33 plants were installed till now. About 59 more plants will be installed and functioning any day now. Another 80 plants will be functioning by end of May according to h
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